1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an integrated MEMS magnetometer of semiconductor material formed in MEMS technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, magnetometers are devices that enable measurement of external magnetic fields, for example the Earth's magnetic field.
Known magnetometers belong to two categories: scalar magnetometers, which are able to measure only the magnitude of the magnetic field; and vector magnetometers, which are able to measure the components of the magnetic field along three axes in space.
Known magnetometers work according to different principles. Older magnetometers are needle compasses, wherein a needle of magnetized material is able to orient itself parallel to the magnetic field. Moreover, known magnetometers are coil magnetometers, which measure the external magnetic field exploiting the electromagnetic induction in a coil; Hall-effect sensors, based upon the measurement of the electrical voltage existing between two terminals of a conductive region flowed by a transverse current and immersed in a magnetic field having a vertical component; proton magnetometers, which exploit the intrinsic magnetic momentum of protons; and magnetoresistive sensors, which exploit the capacity of appropriate ferromagnetic materials (referred to as magnetoresistive materials, for example the material known by the name of “permalloy” constituted by an Fe-Ni alloy) for modifying their own resistance in presence of an external magnetic field.
Known magnetometers have considerable dimensions and/or entail costly manufacturing processes that do not enable integration thereof in integrated devices or require complex and costly integration.
On the other hand, magnetometers of small dimensions and low cost are desired for various applications, such as navigation systems integrated in advanced cell phones.